After West Chicago planners favor Pulte Homes plan, a separate committee says don't approve it

A West Chicago panel is recommending that the city council reject a plan to build a new subdivision on the south side of Smith Road between Route 59 and Klein Road.

Pulte Homes, a nationwide builder with a Schaumburg office, is seeking permission to build a subdivision of 266 single-family homes called The Preserve at West Branch. It would be built on an 111-acre farmland parcel owned by the family that operates the adjacent St. Andrews Golf & Country Club. It would include a new city park and three detention ponds.

In March, the West Chicago plan commission gave a unanimous recommendation for the Pulte Homes plan. But West Chicago aldermen who sit on the city's development committee voted 3-2 on Monday to recommend the proposal be denied.

Aldermen James Beifuss, John E. Jakabcsin and Matt Garling voted against the plan, while Christine Dettmann and Jayme Sheahan voted in favor of it. Aldermen Melissa Birch-Ferguson and committee chair Rebecca Stout were absent.

"I have some concerns about the safety. I have some concerns about the stormwater," said Beifuss, echoing issues cited by some of the more than 50 residents who crammed into the council chambers on Monday night.

All the residents who signed in to speak during the public comments section opposed the Pulte Homes development.

Several residents shared concerns about the potential for extra flooding as a result of the lost farmland. Others said the density of the development would not blend in with existing subdivisions.

Many residents also expressed worries about increased traffic and safety, specifically about the 100-foot access road that would connect the southern end of the subdivision to Klein Road on the east.

"We have great concerns about the traffic issue," said West Chicago resident Theresa Sliva, who presented a petition from a local cycling club against the development.

Sliva also warned of hilly sightline issues along Klein Road.

Before the committee vote, West Chicago Director of Community Development Tom Dabareiner reminded the aldermen that Pulte Homes made several revisions to its initial proposals so that the development would comply with West Chicago zoning and planning codes.

The full 14-member West Chicago city council will likely consider both the plan and development committees' recommendations before making a final vote at the next meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, May 16.